Ingredients

4 ounces pearl barley
Olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces frozen peas
2 cups good chicken or vegetable stock
1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 partridges, washed and patted dry, broken into legs and breasts
4 ounces thick bacon or pancetta, rind removed, cut into pieces
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped
A handful romaine lettuce leaves, washed and spun dry
A handful arugula, washed and spun dry

Directions

Cook the pearl barley in boiling, salted
water for about 50 minutes, or until tender but still with a little bite, then drain and leave to steam dry.

Next, heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan and add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook slowly on a low
heat for about 10 minutes, without coloring too much. Add the barley and the peas. Cover with the stock and
bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.

On a board, mash the flour and butter together with a fork until you have a paste. This is called a "beurre
manie" and it's a great way of thickening stews or sauces without having to stir the flour in directly, which
could give you lumps. Stir half of the paste into the peas and barley and continue to simmer until the liquid
begins to thicken. If, after 5 minutes, it's not thick enough, add some more of your beurre manie. What you
want to achieve is a silky smooth broth. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, adding a little extra
stock if it gets too dry, while you cook your partridges.

Put some olive oil into another frying pan. Season the partridge legs with salt and pepper and add them to the
pan. (The legs go in first because they're tougher than the breasts and need longer to cook.) Shake them about
and, after a few minutes, when they're lightly golden, add the bacon bits and stir gently to stop them
catching on the bottom. Meanwhile, lay the partridge breasts out, sprinkle over the chopped thyme and press
onto both sides with a good pinch of seasoning. When the bacon is lightly golden, push it to 1 side of the pan
with the partridge legs and lay the breasts in, skin side down. Cook for 4 minutes, then turn and cook on the
other side for a minute to give you crispy skin and moist meat. You can cook them for longer if you like your
meat well done.

When the breasts are done, taste the barley broth and adjust the seasoning, then stir in the lettuce and
arugula - they only need a minute or so to cook. Serve the barley, peas and lettuce with the partridge breasts
and legs on top and sprinkle with the bacon pieces. Spoon the broth juices over the top. Lovely homey cooking!
"Our agreement with the producers of "Jamie at Home" only permit us to make 2 recipes per episode available
online. Food Network regrets the inconvenience to our viewers and foodnetwork.com users"